The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 868 Dramatic Changes in China
"boom!"

A gunshot shattered the pre-sunrise tranquility, and with it, six or seven torches were suddenly lit, illuminating the courtyard inside and out.

Dozens of men, armed with flintlock rifles and carrying bombs and revolvers on their belts, roared loudly. Seven or eight of them carried a battering ram as thick as a water bucket and slammed it against the gate of the compound in front of them.

'boom! '

Before the sound of the door being rammed, another gunshot rang out. A flash of orange-red light appeared on the courtyard wall, followed by a scream from below. Someone had been shot down on the spot.

But this did not frighten the people below; instead, it aroused their anger. Amidst shouts of "Heave-ho!", the thick battering ram slammed against the courtyard gate.

A series of loud thuds shook the courtyard gate, making it seem as if the walls were trembling. From inside the gate came screams of terror.

The shouts were like a bugle call to charge, making the men outside the door even more excited, and their blows became more and more violent.

On the courtyard wall, the man with the flintlock pistol shot down another person, but a counterattack began below the wall. Bullets whizzed past the firing holes in the wall, sending rammed earth and stones flying everywhere.

'boom! ’

Huge flames rose up, and the sound of explosions echoed all around.

Someone threw a bomb into the yard, but they couldn't get their hands on the most advanced black powder, let alone nitroglycerin. The bomb they threw in was actually a large firecracker; it produced the sound and flash of an explosion, but its destructive power was severely lacking.

But those inside the courtyard were more timid than those outside. Several figures on the courtyard wall dared not delay and jumped down to run into the inner courtyard.

*Thump~ Click!*

At this moment, the door bolt could not withstand the violent impact and broke into several pieces. The men outside the door let out excited howls, and rushed in with their flintlock rifles with bayonets fixed. Then came pitiful cries and angry curses.

The horrific sound carried far through the empty countryside, instantly waking Li Chengbiao from his sleep. He quickly got up, pulled out a flintlock pistol from under the bed, and ran outside wearing only a pair of shorts, loading the pistol as he ran.

This is Xihetunbao, Huai'an County, Xuanhua Prefecture (Zhangjiakou), Hebei Province. It is not far from Beijing. To the west is Datong Prefecture, and to the north is the territory of various tribes of Chahar in southern Mongolia. During the Qing Dynasty, it was a major transportation route between the interior and exterior of the Great Wall.

However, during the Great Yu Dynasty, the influence of the Southern Mongolians greatly diminished, and the status of the entire Xuanhua Prefecture, including Xihe Tunbao, declined rapidly. Now, it is just an obscure little village in northern Hebei.

The Li family has four brothers: Li Chengliang, Li Chengcai, Li Chengji, and Li Chengbiao, with Li Chengbiao being the youngest. However, this is his order of birth, and he is not young at all.

Li Chengbiao was already twenty-five years old, but because he had spent five or six years in the army, he hadn't settled down and was still unmarried. So he lived with his older brother Li Chengliang's family.

As a former key transportation hub between the interior and exterior of the Great Wall, the men of Xihe Tunbao mostly had the habit of practicing martial arts. After the Great Yu returned, they paid special attention to the restoration of the martial virtue of the Han people. Larger towns in Huai'an County established martial arts schools, with retired soldiers teaching shooting techniques.

Later, with frequent wars, many retired soldiers had other options, and fewer were willing to come to the towns and villages in the north to learn martial arts for a living. The imperial court then transformed these martial arts schools into various societies that had spread throughout the Central Plains, Hebei, and Hedong throughout history.

It used to be called the Gun and Stick Club or the Archery Club, but now it's called the Travel Club. In addition to teaching martial arts, it also often instills the idea of ​​going out to colonize and teaches some essentials of colonizing abroad.

Li Chengbiao, along with his elder brother Li Chengliang and two nephews, armed with guns and leading horses, had just reached the village entrance when his second brother Li Chengcai and third brother Li Chengji arrived. In addition, there were strong men from seven or eight other families in the village, totaling about forty people, all armed with guns and horses.

Moreover, these forty-odd strong men were not honest farmers. Apart from retired soldiers like Li Chengbiao, each of them was a small landowner with three or four hundred acres of land.

For ordinary people at that time, there weren't as many entertainment options as in later generations. With a surplus of money and food, most people would have a hobby to pass the time. For men, there was nothing better than playing with knives and guns to pass the time and increase their competitiveness.

The sons of good families in the Han Dynasty and the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were roughly like this.

"Something happened at the Zhao family compound to the north. I don't know how many people are beating them. Should we stay at the village entrance or go check it out?"

The able-bodied men gathered around all looked at Li Chengbiao. He was highly skilled in martial arts and, before retiring from the army, had participated in the battle to suppress the Jurchen barbarians who refused to submit to the rule of the emperor in the Northeast Envoy's Office. He had several lives on his hands and was considered a prominent figure in this small 'commune'.

“The Zhao family has gone too far. There’s no reason for us to help them get shot. Fifth Brother Wang, go to the county government to report this. The rest of you, guard the village entrance and wait for the inspector to come from the county town before making a decision.”

“That makes sense, that makes sense.” The able-bodied men nodded in agreement when they heard Li Chengbiao say that.

Although Xihe Tunbao is called Tunbao, the name actually comes from the Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was indeed a military settlement for defending against the Mongols. By the Qing Dynasty, the Tunbao had long disappeared, leaving only the name. So, it was actually a village.

The Xiyang River, a tributary of the Yongding River originating outside the Great Wall, divides Xihetunbao into two parts, north and south. The southern part is where the Li brothers lived, while the northern part is mainly inhabited by the Zhao family.

In recent years, due to the emperor's implementation of new laws, land annexation in the northern provinces has accelerated. Some people with excellent farming skills have indeed become wealthy, and some with shrewd business acumen have made money. However, a large number of people have chosen the old methods like those of the Zhao brothers.

They used deception, fraud, and framing to bankrupt farmers who could have survived, and then annexed their land in large quantities for worthless amounts.

Actually, this is fine as long as no one dies. Even if the people are bad, as long as the government's need to drive them out for settlement is met, there shouldn't be any major problems.

But the Zhao brothers were too greedy. They not only caused deaths, but also controlled the personal freedom of the villagers. The Zhao family, led by the eldest brother, had more than ten other families, and they also formed a group of sworn brothers, known as the Twenty Brothers.

They used their families as the core and adopted a hierarchical control model to highly concentrate the land. Some villagers who were coerced nominally owned 150 mu of land, but in reality, they were tenants of the Zhao family.

It is said that there are now 30,000 to 40,000 mu of fertile land and countless forests and grasslands. It seems that a local powerful figure is about to appear.

Naturally, this method of annexation terrified the surrounding villages. As a result, when they saw the Zhao family compound being besieged, the villagers, who were only separated by a river, did not unite to go and rescue them.

"I heard that Magistrate Wang of the county is the son-in-law of the Zhao family. I wonder if we're just sitting here watching something happen to the Zhao family? What if something happens to Old Master Zhao? Will they come after us later?"

The eldest brother, Li Chengliang, was a waste of his name. He was honest but also somewhat timid. He looked at his youngest brother, Li Chengbiao, with some concern.

"Don't be afraid, brother." Li Chengbiao pulled his brother over and said in a low voice, "Inspector Ye has long been disgusted by Magistrate Wang's corruption and abuse of power. He is a fellow townsman of Consort Ye and has direct access to the emperor. This time, Magistrate Wang and the Zhao family are doomed."

In Dayu County, the position of patrol inspector has been greatly enhanced. Previously, he was just a minor military officer controlling key intersections, but now he has become the third-highest-ranking official after the county magistrate and the county assistant, with power even above that of the registrar.

This was because in the Great Yu Dynasty, the countryside was full of martial spirit. The county magistrate was in charge of the yamen runners and the security of the county town, but he could not exert enough deterrence over the countryside. Therefore, it was necessary to greatly improve the status of the patrol inspectors in order to control the countryside.

Li Chengliang was unfamiliar with officialdom, but after hearing his younger brother's explanation and seeing his confident expression, he immediately felt much more at ease.

Lee Sung-pyo wasn't entirely telling the truth, because he was the one who connected the group that attacked the Zhao family across the river, and he himself was a peripheral member of the patrol bureau who took orders from Inspector Ye.

Half an hour later, as dawn broke, the able-bodied men on the south bank of the river climbed up the earthen slope at the village entrance to observe carefully. They saw that several outer sections of the Zhao family compound had been damaged, but the compound built on the hillside behind the village remained intact. The men couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Immediately afterwards, with a loud bang, a cannon on the Zhao family's courtyard in the back mountain suddenly opened fire. It did not look like an old-fashioned cannon left over from the Qing Dynasty, but rather a standard six-pounder cannon used by the army.

"Good heavens, they even have field artillery! Is the Zhao family planning a rebellion?" Li Chengbiao jumped up excitedly, his face flushed.

According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, towns with a population of over a thousand were not allowed to openly carry long guns, and towns with a population of over three thousand were not allowed to display short guns. Only in the countryside were there few restrictions.

However, even short guns are now restricted, not to mention cannons. Just like in the past when possessing more than three sets of armor was considered treason, these things are absolutely prohibited.

Now that the Zhao family had used cannons for self-defense—field cannons at that—the three clans were basically doomed. Of course, they wouldn't waste killing them; instead, they would definitely be driven out to the most difficult places to settle. The power of the cannons was indeed extraordinary. The few dozen people who had been rallied by Li Chengbiao turned and ran faster than rats when they saw that the Zhao family had such a big machine.

They're attacking from below; with only a few dozen men, if any more get hit by a fully loaded shotgun shell, they'll all be wiped out.

Of course, the field artillery in the Zhao family compound not only scared away the dozens of strong men who were attacking, but also attracted another group of people.

As soon as the cannons roared, a troop emerged from the distant pine forest, leading a large banner with the character "Ye" prominently displayed on it.

Looking at the infantry and cavalry under the banner, they were all dressed in blue woolen military uniforms, their belts were neatly fastened, and they were wearing leather boots. They were actually the regular army of Huai'an County, the garrison army of Huai'an Brigade under the Hebei General Commander under the Shanxi-Hebei Governor.

"Mount up, mount up! Let's intercept the bandits attacking the Zhao family!" As soon as Li Chengbiao saw Inspector Ye arrive, he immediately perked up and led his men to intercept the 'bandits' who had been scared away.

Even though Lee Sung-pyo knew that they were people he had instigated who had a grudge against the Zhao family, he still didn't intend to let them go. What great people they were for going out to settle down and expand their territory!
It should be noted that His Highness the Liao King offered an extra reward in Brazil County (Baku, Azerbaijan): whoever could send a Han Chinese able-bodied man who knew how to wield a sword to Brazil County would immediately receive thirty silver dollars and two well-trained Turkish bodhisattvas.

Li Chengbiao secretly thought that if he sent a few dozen people over, he would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life. This Bodhisattva Barbarian was worth a fortune in the four provinces of the mountains and rivers.

In the Zhao family compound, when Old Master Zhao saw the banners of the garrison troops flying across the way, a chill ran down his spine. He shouted hoarsely to his youngest son, "Quick, ride a fast horse and break through the encirclement! Tell your brother-in-law to come quickly, this time we're in big trouble!"

The newcomers did not disappoint Old Master Zhao's expectations. After the more than 600 garrison soldiers crossed the Xiyang River, they completely ignored the bandits attacking the Zhao family and instead formed a battle formation to surround the Zhao family.

"What a scoundrel! He's a real expert at land reclamation. The Eastern Prefecture of Kitagawa Province (Texas) is about to fall. We need a scoundrel like him to suppress the local natives and develop fertile land."

Ye Fengjun, riding on his horse, laughed heartily and spoke to a burly man with a gloomy expression beside him.

Just by looking at the name, you can tell that Ye Fengjun is not actually a relative of Ye Defei, but rather a cousin of Ye Fengchang, the earliest Yuan dynasty nobleman and the Marquis of Jida in Nanyang. They were from Tong'an, Fujian, not the Hakka people of Meizhou.

However, it's pretty much the same. The wealthy and powerful families from Fujian and Guangdong are keen on expanding their territories and occupying land everywhere, so they don't have many people in officialdom.

Therefore, they stick together very closely. Even if Ye Fengjun insists that he is Ye Defei's uncle, Ye Defei and Ye Yizhen will still acknowledge him.

"Who says otherwise? It's such a waste to leave such a person in China to bully men and women and oppress his fellow villagers. He's such a good candidate for colonization. In a little while, we'll send away all the people in his family who are under seventy years old."

The gloomy-faced man finally showed a hint of joy. This trip was worthwhile; this one order was all it took to complete his monthly task.

"Who's coming down the mountain? Is it Commander Wang?" Seeing that his son-in-law, Magistrate Wang, hadn't arrived yet, Old Master Zhao started trying to stall for time in order to stabilize the situation.

"Commander Wang, we're family, even if the blood is broken, so let's not make a mess of things. Please withdraw your troops, and I, Zhao, will immediately arrange a meal to reward the brothers of the Huai'an Association!"

"Heh heh!" The gloomy-looking man chuckled. He took out a notebook and pen and wrote down the name of the garrison commander Huai'an Xie Wang Qianzong in his notebook.

"A commander of a thousand men may not be a big deal in China, but once you go abroad, he can be a capable person who can stand on his own."

Inspector Ye also laughed out loud, then cupped his hands in greeting to a lieutenant colonel next to him. Since they were here to arrest the entire Zhao family, how could they possibly use the Huai'an Police?

It turned out that Inspector Ye had only brought thirty-odd musketeers from the patrol office. The rest of the garrison troops were brought by this gloomy man and belonged to the garrison troops of the Deputy General of the Grand Canal under the Shandong Provincial Governor-General (Henan + Shandong) and the General Commander of Linqing Prefecture.

"Listen up, you thieves! I am Qi Xizheng, the Deputy Commander of the Grand Canal in Linqing Prefecture, Shandong Province. I have been ordered to arrest you. Open the gates and surrender now, or you will lose your lives!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhao was struck dumb. He swayed several times and almost fell off the wall.

"Quickly, eldest grandson, ride out and catch up with your uncle. Tell him not to let your uncle come to the Zhao family compound. There must be a treacherous official trying to harm our Zhao family. We must find someone higher up to investigate."

You know what, it's quite remarkable that Old Master Zhao, as the mastermind behind this, could create such a stir. He was able to quickly analyze that these weren't just simple thieves, but rather officials trying to make things difficult for the Zhao family, and the target was likely Magistrate Wang.

The only shortcoming was that he came from a humble background and couldn't see clearly what the top leadership was planning. He thought that the emperor was getting old and wanted to eat, drink, and have fun, so he stopped suppressing mergers.

Who knew that the emperor intended to "fish out" talented individuals like them from the very bottom? They were indeed talented, without any derogatory meaning; with Old Master Zhao's skills and abilities, he was undoubtedly a master of land reclamation!

Therefore, the Zhao family soon met with tragedy.

Just as the eldest grandson of the Zhao family rode out of the Zhao family compound, the gloomy giant waved his hand, and a black-robed knight who had followed him immediately spurred his horse to intercept him.

The black-robed knight's warhorse was an Akhal-Teke, carefully bred by the Royal Jeju Island Military Horse Farm. It was a third-generation crossbreed of a purebred Akhal-Teke horse and an Indian Fold, possessing extremely strong explosive power and running as fast as lightning.

In an instant, the eldest grandson of the Zhao family was overtaken. The man in black robes shouted and shot an arrow. The eldest grandson of the Zhao family fell to the ground and tumbled off his horse.

Fortunately, they used a piercing arrow, which relied on its immense impact to strike vital organs and knock people down, much like a rubber bullet. As a result, the eldest grandson of the Zhao family was quickly captured.

At this point, Old Master Zhao could no longer hold on. He plopped down on the ground with a thud, muttering, "It's over, it's over, the Zhao family is finished."

An hour later, Magistrate Wang led a group of over a hundred men, including fast and strong men, along with dozens of able-bodied men from his own family, from Huai'an County to the Zhao family compound.

Inspector Ye did not live in the county town, and the Shandong garrison troops he mobilized had not passed through the county town either, so County Magistrate Wang had no idea about these circumstances beforehand.

Seeing hundreds of garrison soldiers in formation, he assumed that Inspector Ye had privately mobilized the garrison to target his father-in-law, and he was immediately furious.

The two had a long-standing feud. The magistrate of Huai'an was a kind-hearted old man, a ruthless old bookworm who had stubbornly pursued the imperial examinations. He passed the examinations at the age of twenty-nine, barely making the cut. Lacking social experience, he was taken over by Wang, the county magistrate, who came from a prominent local family, had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, and had risen through the ranks from a scholar to an official.

Despite holding the title of Hebei Provincial Administration Commissioner, Ye Fengjun was actually the Prefect of Tianjin under the Xing Tang Dynasty. Upon seeing this, Ye Zhentang, the elder brother of Crown Princess Ye, specially transferred Ye Fengjun to serve as the Inspector of Huai'an County, so that he could compete with Magistrate Wang and collect evidence.

"Ye Fengjun, you son of a bitch! You tricked me, didn't you? You bypassed the Huai'an Deputy Commander to mobilize the town's troops, which is tantamount to treason. Let's see who can protect you this time!" County Magistrate Wang pointed at Inspector Ye's face and cursed him without any restraint.

"Withdraw your soldiers now, and when Commander Wang from Huai'an arrives, we'll plead for you together. Perhaps you can still be spared."

Inspector Ye laughed heartily, "Old Wang, I'm telling you, you're ignorant and incompetent. In all these years of our Great Yu Dynasty, apart from sons killing their fathers and wives harming their husbands, who else has been executed? My head is still intact."

County Magistrate Wang was about to rebuke him angrily when he heard a voice faintly say, "Who said that Inspector Ye mobilized troops without authorization? And who allowed you, a county magistrate, to lead hundreds of armed men from the militia and express detachments into the countryside without a warrant issued by the county magistrate, intending to commit violence?"

County Magistrate Wang looked over in astonishment and saw a burly man with a gloomy expression slowly unbuttoning the black robe he was wearing, revealing a bright red robe embroidered with dragon patterns underneath, as well as a long, thin sword and a waist tag with the words "Northern Garrison Command" engraved on it, which was held in front of him.

"Flying fish robe, embroidered spring knife!" Magistrate Wang mechanically uttered these six words, feeling his whole body stiffen.

With a rustling sound, the dozen or so black-robed figures behind the gloomy giant also unfastened their robes, revealing bright red flying fish robes, and raised slender embroidered spring knives.

"The Northern Garrison Command is handling a case, so kneel down!" a captain shouted, and not only the strong and fast guards who came with Magistrate Wang knelt down with pale faces.

Even Li Chengbiao and the others, who had just caught the thieves who attacked the Zhao family compound, couldn't help but kneel on the ground in fear.

(End of this chapter)